Chapter 307

Eliot Harving did not play Satisfy for some grand reason.

In the real world, he was a retired professor from a highly renowned university. His wife was the chief executive of a successful technology firm. Their bank accounts were full, and with their child finally old enough to be at school all day, the house was suddenly very empty. Eliot had simply run out of books to read. He bought a Satisfy capsule mostly just to see what the fuss was about. 

Most people his age didn't log in to hunt monsters or chase leaderboard rankings, but rather other aspects. Eliot himself chose Tailoring. He liked the quiet repetition of it. He liked that a piece of clothing didn't care how fast your reflexes were, only that you measured the thread correctly and had the patience to finish the seams. The fact he became the 1st ranked Tailor was a wonder even to him.

His patience paid off. He spent months working quietly in the Rotemon Kingdom, eventually becoming the only outsider accepted as an apprentice by old Fenner, a man whose family had produced the best tailors in the surrounding kingdoms for generations.

The old NPC had called him into the back room of the shop a few weeks ago. Fenner had handed him a heavy, tarnished silver medallion.

"My family's hands have always made the best clothes, Viper," Fenner had said, his voice thick with age. "But the one who started it all... his resting place was lost to the ashes. Find where my ancestor sleeps. Leave this medallion on his stone."

[Hidden Quest: Fenner's Ancestor has been generated!]

[Hidden Quest: Fenner's Ancestor]

[Difficulty: ???]

[Old Fenner's family has produced highly reputed tailors for generations in Rotemon Kingdom. He has taken you as his apprentice — a rare honor for an outsider.

He asks of you: find the resting place of the ancestor who has passed down his tailoring.]

[Objective: Discover the identity and burial site of Fenner's ancestor.]

[Reward: ???]

Eliot, known in the game as Viper, had taken the medallion and spent three days buried in the local library. The research revealed that Fenner’s ancestor was Kruger, the Legendary Tailor who existed even before the greatest legend, the Sword Saint Muller. The burial site was Velmere City, once known across the continent as the City of Textiles.

There was just one massive problem.

Four hundred years ago, Yatan's Second Servant had sacrificed the entire population of Velmere to summon the 18th Great Demon, Lepir. Sword Saint Muller had eventually arrived and sealed the demon, but the damage was permanent. Velmere and the surrounding land had been turned into the Ashfall Region. It was one of the high-level forbidden zones crawling with monsters over level 350 in the Rotemon Kingdom.

A production class player with no combat skills couldn't even walk past the border of the forbidden zone without getting torn apart by the weakest mobs. Viper needed help. But an SSS-rank quest tied to a Legendary Tailor was a magnet for betrayal. If he hired a random group of mercenaries, be it players or NPCs, they would likely stab him in the back the second they found the grave was somehow related to a legend, hoping to trigger the rewards for themselves.

He needed people he could trust. He remembered the exact conversation he had with Cecilia a few weeks ago when she first tracked him down to recruit him. 

She had found him working quietly in Fenner’s shop in the capital of Rotemon Kingdom. She didn't offer a grand, dramatic speech about dominating the game or fighting for glory. She just laid a ledger on his cutting table and gave him the facts. 

"You are the 1st ranked tailor," Cecilia had said, her tone completely businesslike. "Which means you need materials from zones where a production class cannot survive alone. You need a shield."

Eliot hadn't looked up from his sewing. "And your guild provides a good shield?"

"The best," Cecilia replied smoothly. "Our Guildmaster is Rudra. The Zenith. The current first-ranked player on the unified boards. Furthermore, the entire guild is fully funded by a Duke from the Murray Kingdom. Gold is not an issue, and safety is an absolute guarantee. If you make the clothes, the guild will make sure that you won't have to worry about materials ever again."

That was why Viper had accepted Cecilia's invitation to join the Genesis Guild. He needed people who were strong enough to survive the zone, and bound by enough guild loyalty to not rob him blind.

Viper found Red and Haster in the Stormbreak training yard.

The two rankers were in the middle of a fast, noisy sparring match. Red lunged forward, his twin rapiers moving in a quick, alternating blur. Haster didn't back up. The older player just planted his boots and spun the wooden shaft of his spear, expertly deflecting the strikes with loud, sharp clacks.

"You're leaving your left side open again, kid," Haster grunted, pushing Red back with a heavy shove of the spear shaft.

"Yet you still can take advantage of it, old man," Red laughed, catching his balance.

Viper walked over and cleared his throat.

Red lowered his rapiers, wiping sweat from his forehead. Haster rested his spear against the dirt.

"I need a favor," Viper said. "An escort mission. I'll transfer ten thousand Genesis Credits to each of your accounts right now if you take the job."

Red’s eyes lit up immediately. Ten thousand credits was a good chunk of change toward buying a Legendary skill from the Sage's Tower. He spun one of his rapiers and sheathed it with a grin.

"Say less," Red said. "You're the guy making our custom coats. Whatever you need, we've got you covered. Right, Haster?"

Haster nodded, crossing his arms. "We were planning to patrol the eastern passes anyway to grind some levels. We can reroute. Where are we taking you?"

"The Rotemon Kingdom," Viper said calmly. "Specifically, the Ashfall Region."

Red stopped smiling. Haster's arms dropped to his sides.

The easygoing atmosphere in the training yard vanished instantly.